1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to walkers employed to assist a person in walking. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel stand up walker having a pair of adjustable upper arms coupled to gas springs and a harness which lifts and supports the body of a person rising from a seated position and supports the body weight while walking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Walkers with four legs are well known. Such walkers permit a person to support their body through their arms while standing or walking, but offer no real lifting assistance when rising from a seated position or when sitting down.
Prior art walkers have been provided with sets of front wheels. This permits the person to move the walker forward before stepping forward one or two short steps in a shuffle step while leaning on the walker.
Walkers with four sets of wheels are known as rollers and must be provided with a releasably normally-on braking system on at least two of the wheels. If no brakes are provided, any lateral thrust allows the roller walker to move away from the person using the roller walker, thus creating a hazardous situation.
Manual and electric patient lift mechanisms are known for assisting people from a seated or lying position to a wheelchair or some other form of stationary support. Such patient lift mechanisms require one or two operators to position and operate the crane-like mechanism and at least one other to assist the patient.
It would be extremely desirable to provide a novel walker which can be operated by a single person or patient alone and accomplish all of the needed functions of a patient lift mechanism as well as a walker or roller.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel walker that permits a seated person to stand and walk or vice versa with minimum of effort.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel walker or roller which permits a patient to adjust the amount body weight to be carried by the walker when in a walking mode.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a rehabilitation walker for persons that cannot carry full body weight on the limbs or joints during rehabilitation.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a rehabilitation walker for persons that ordinarily would be restricted to a wheelchair by having the walker support enough body weight to permit walking with an adjustable and minimal weight on the legs while propelling themselves in the novel walker.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a walker for assisting the walking of amputees especially the elderly and those having a problem adjusting to a new amputation.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide immobilized or wheelchair patients with a novel exercise walker that can be used for gaining leg strength and exercising.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a rehabilitation walker for persons that have pulmonary disease or heart disease that previously could only walk a few steps without tiring or risking physical harm.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide any handicap person with a foldable or storable walker device that permits assisted walking, assisted standing and assisted seating so that can live a fuller life without depending on help from others.
According to these and other objects of the present invention there is provided a four-legged walker with wheels on each of the legs. The walker is provided with a pair of upper lifting arms coupled to a pair of lifting springs. A body harness, worn by the person using the walker, transfers an adjustable amount of body weight to the upper support arms and thus into the walker support frame so that a person inside of the walker is able to walk with a pre-determined force on the leg joints and limbs.